Holy Unholy Cow
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Sermon text: Exodus 32:1-34:35
Idolatry is sin
“An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”
—Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods
Our idols reveal that we doubt God’s plan for our lives
Our idols reveal that we don’t trust God’s timing or ways
Our idols reveal that we believe other things are better
Our idols reveal that we are being conformed by the world
Our idols reveal that we are forgetting the greatness of God
If any of this sounds familiar, it is because we are tempted to commit the same kinds of sins. We are not fully satisfied with God. We don’t trust him to work things out his own way in his own time. So we turn away from his law, coming up with our own strategies for making life work on our terms. We bow to the false gods of success and control, beauty and pleasure. We pay more attention to our occupations and entertainments than we do to serving the only true God.
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus
Aaron shows us how NOT to apologize
—accuse the accuser
—blame others for your actions
—refuse to own your mistake
As the mediator, Moses appeals to God’s character
—God’s love for His people
—God’s plan for His people
—God’s glory through His people
—God’s mercy for His people
—God’s promise to His people
“Since this appeal was based on God’s own character, Moses was not trying to talk God into doing something he didn’t want to do. On the contrary, he was telling God exactly what he wanted to hear. And in the end, God did what he had intended to do from the beginning. He answered the prayer of the mediator whom he had appointed by saving the people he had chosen from all eternity.”
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: Exodus 32:1-34:35
Idolatry is sin
“An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”
—Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods
Our idols reveal that we doubt God’s plan for our lives
Our idols reveal that we don’t trust God’s timing or ways
Our idols reveal that we believe other things are better
Our idols reveal that we are being conformed by the world
Our idols reveal that we are forgetting the greatness of God
If any of this sounds familiar, it is because we are tempted to commit the same kinds of sins. We are not fully satisfied with God. We don’t trust him to work things out his own way in his own time. So we turn away from his law, coming up with our own strategies for making life work on our terms. We bow to the false gods of success and control, beauty and pleasure. We pay more attention to our occupations and entertainments than we do to serving the only true God.
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus
Aaron shows us how NOT to apologize
—accuse the accuser
—blame others for your actions
—refuse to own your mistake
As the mediator, Moses appeals to God’s character
—God’s love for His people
—God’s plan for His people
—God’s glory through His people
—God’s mercy for His people
—God’s promise to His people
“Since this appeal was based on God’s own character, Moses was not trying to talk God into doing something he didn’t want to do. On the contrary, he was telling God exactly what he wanted to hear. And in the end, God did what he had intended to do from the beginning. He answered the prayer of the mediator whom he had appointed by saving the people he had chosen from all eternity.”
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus
Discipleship Questions:
- Why are our idols so dangerous and harmful?
- What do our idols reveal about us?
- How can we defeat and destroy our idols?
- Why is it so hard to confess and apologize?
- What does a true apology need to look like?
- How does God’s character give us hope when we mess things up?
- How is Jesus a better mediator than Moses?
- What are some verses or passages we should pray for ourselves, our families, our church, etc.?
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